Mahabharata 3.20.4 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 20, Shloka 4
Śālva–Pradyumna Yuddha: Sārathya-kauśala, Astra-pratikāra, Daiva-niyati
Chapter 20
अस्वस्थनरनारीकमिदं वृष्णिकुलं भृशम् । किमिदं नरशार्दटूल श्रोतुमिच्छामि तत्त्वतः
asvastha-nara-nārīkam idaṁ vṛṣṇi-kulaṁ bhṛśam | kim idaṁ nara-śārdūla śrotum icchāmi tattvataḥ ||
ಈ ವೃಷ್ಣಿಕುಲವು ಬಹಳ ಅಸ್ವಸ್ಥವಾಗಿದೆ; ಇದರ ಪುರುಷರು-ಸ್ತ್ರೀಯರು ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಅಸ್ವಸ್ಥರೂ ಅಶಾಂತರೂ ಕಾಣುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಓ ನರಶಾರ್ದೂಲಾ! ಇದರ ಕಾರಣವೇನು? ನಿಜವನ್ನು ತತ್ತ್ವತಃ ಕೇಳಲು ಬಯಸುತ್ತೇನೆ.
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models responsible leadership and ethical inquiry: when a community shows signs of distress, one should not ignore it or speculate loosely, but seek the real cause (tattvataḥ) through careful questioning, aiming at the welfare of all.
Vāsudeva observes that the Vṛṣṇi people—both men and women—appear seriously unsettled or unwell. He addresses a heroic interlocutor (“nara-śārdūla”) and asks for a truthful explanation of the cause behind this troubling condition.
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